Unlike TLO, I just play the same old games on Steam, afraid of all the crap that I bought and all the ones I installed but never really tried out. Crusader Kings, Disciples, Space Empires IV, all those strategy games that are incredibly daunting to even try out, let alone learn how to play. So I'm still replaying Sid Meier's Pirates, which I might actually finish this time around if I can get the Spanish off my back.

So... the last week or so I've been gradually going through my Steam library and "playing" every game. There are titles I've downloaded by haven't installed since I built my new PC and even more that never got upgraded to the new Steam file structure so basically I'm just making sure they all install and run (so far I only have a two or three that are being stubborn, like Dark Forces 2? Won't play full screen and keeps crashing on level load. Bluh...) Today I got stuck for a few hours in Mount and Blade. It's not pretty, and it controls a little clunky but there's some good stuff going on in it. I've gathered a nice little army and have been pillaging my way across the continent. And surprisingly got hired by a King to help take down a castle of one of his rivals. I'm of course planning on stabbing him in the back and taking it for myself, we'll see how that works out.

I've been wondering about Mount & Blade whenever it came on sale, could only play the vanilla and one of the expansion packs if I ever got it. And I can totally run it if I drop them fancy picture options for performance over ugliness

If you can run it pick it up next time it's on sale. It's very open world/sandbox-y with party management that will make a veteran Pirates player feel at home. The goals are much more lose but there are tournaments to take part in, towns to loot, castles to steal and claim as your own. I imagine if one worked at it long enough they could unify all of the kingdoms. Right now I'm only a minor warlord at best but I can field over thirty men which at least puts me in a position where I don't have to fear random groups of bandits anymore. Nope, now I have to worry about random noblemen who think they have to prove something. But capturing one of them in battle lets me ransom them off for some nice coin. Taking prisoners/slave trading on the side is a nice way to keep the coin coming in.

Been playing lots of doom. Got a mod called "Accessories to Murder", which is sorta similar to Brutal Doom, as far as weapons go. You have all the standard doom weapons, plus the assault rifle, there's also reloading, a shiny new Heads Up Display, and new enemies. Also the spritework is fantastic. Definitely worth playing.And the new version of Brutal Doom is supposed to be out this month, which I really look forward to. Then there's The Trailblazer, a really sweet looking upcoming mod that changes and adds new weapons, it looks totally badass.

The first one was amazing. They also get a lot less impressive as they go, replacing interesting segments with "you are now in a room. Shoot waves of dudes until there are no more dudes to shoot. Now jump over some stuff, do this really easy puzzle, and do it again."

The first one was amazing. They also get a lot less impressive as they go, replacing interesting segments with "you are now in a room. Shoot waves of dudes until there are no more dudes to shoot. Now jump over some stuff, do this really easy puzzle, and do it again."

Myself, and most fans of the series thought the second one was the best. Good balance of action and puzzle solving, and the setting is lots of fun, Shambhala doesn't appear much in video games.